Boomers Deserving of Latest Hashtag Dig

With the latest media hashtags targeting Baby Boomers, #OKBoomer, the separation between generations is more apparent than ever.

Baby Boomers are those born from 1946-1964; Millennials are those born from 1981-1996; and Gen Z includes those born from 1997-2012, according to Pew Research Center.

Many teens have taken to the social media app Tik Tok to express their anger at a Boomer generation they see as responsible for many of the challenges the younger generations will face as they grow into adults. The response “OK, Boomer” is used maliciously in response to adult Tweets and Youtube videos.

Freshman Caroline McCool has her own qualms with Boomers. “Some of them are not open to new ideas and believe that their opinions on things are the absolute truth without the chance that they are actually in the wrong,” said McCool.

It would also help if Boomers stopped generalizing the younger generations as “snowflakes” and actually took positive steps toward solving the climate crisis.

While Boomers may currently feel a sense of superiority given that many of them are at the peak of their careers and hold positions of power in society, they would be wise to acknowledge the reality of the not-too-distant future.

According to a Forbes article, Millennials will comprise 75% of the global workforce by 2025. Boomers will soon be dependent on younger generations as they retire and decline into old age.

Boomers should be encouraging the next generation, not belittling them.  These will be the people caring for them as they decline, and picking up the pieces of a world they have wrecked with their consumerism and irresponsible use of global resources.

It is true that millenials and Gen Z use the tag #OKBoomer to be critical of their elders, but maybe Boomers should stop acting like snowflakes and get over it.